LOS ANGELES — Kwazi Gilmer isn’t afraid of being a one-man show.
Just check the tape.
In Gilmer’s college commitment video, the then-high school senior re-enacted a LeBron James Nike advertisement in which the NBA star portrayed four versions of himself — from the wise elder to the brash kid, as if a one-man play.
Act like an elderly man? Sure. Don a fake mustache? Check. Jump into the pool sporting a crisp white suit jacket? Yup. Reveal his commitment to UCLA whilst underwater? Gilmer was all in.
He was originally going to make his own spin on an ESPN commercial alluding to Michael Jordan’s stardom. But the Los Angeles native said he needed a spark to create something that was more “him.”
“How would you do it if you’re Kwazi?” he recollected.
Comparing yourself to LeBron James and Michael Jordan before beginning his collegiate career is something Gilmer wasn’t afraid of. He embraces it.
Gilmer speaks as if he knows where he’s headed before the rest of the world does. It’s how the sophomore talks, operates, and weaves in and out of routes to become the open man — now likely target No. 1 for Bruins’ quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who knows what it’s like to be in the headlines.
In 2025, it’s clear. Gilmer knows what he wants in 2025 — and it’s going to take every opposing defense to stop him.
“I want to go win the Biletnikoff, so I’m coming for all the receivers out there,” he said during fall camp, announcing his quest to be recognized as the top wide receiver in the country.
Coming off a freshman season in which he finished fourth among the Bruins with 345 receiving yards and two touchdowns across 12 games, such a claim could be seen as bold, cocky, or outrageous.
Sierra Canyon coach Jon Ellinghouse said Gilmer has the skills to back up the talk.
“He attacks the ball and he goes up with a fearless, reckless abandon-type deal,” Ellinghouse said, “and he doesn’t care if he’s gonna get hit.”
Ellinghouse, who coached Gilmer in 2023 when the then-senior tallied 35 catches for 663 yards and six touchdowns, said the 6-foot-2 wideout was quiet, respectful and did everything asked of him.
As coach-speak often goes, Ellinghouse said Gilmer was “first one in, last one out.”
And the Sierra Canyon coach has seen the proof that Gilmer can stand above the rest.
“He was a guy that was bold,” Ellinghouse said. “He was never afraid to tell you what he was gonna do or how he was going to do it. He talked the game, and if anything, he went out and exceeded his talk.”
Unless you’re Ellinghouse, in tune with Big Ten football, or diving deep into preseason magazines for every bit of information before Week 1 of college football, Gilmer’s name may at most be a blip on the radar as a name to keep an eye on.
But maybe there’s substantial evidence to believe Gilmer’s claim of winning best receiver in the nation honors.
He played at three different high schools in the greater LA area — Palisades Charter, Chaminade Prep, and Sierra Canyon — and has dealt with a different offense across the last five seasons (three at UCLA: Chip Kelly, Eric Bieniemy and Tino Sunseri). Learning a new offense — now with Sunseri, the Bruins’ new offensive coordinator — isn’t a new concept for Gilmer; it’s one he’s thrived on since emerging as a four-star prospect (according to Rivals).
“Your mind can work where it switches from one playbook to the next, and then you grow from there,” Gilmer said. “Makes you a stronger person.”
UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster sees where Gilmer could be headed. And he doesn’t consider dealing with new offenses as an obstacle either, pointing to Philadelphia Eagles star quarterback Jalen Hurts, who has thrived under six different playcallers across six NFL seasons.
Foster, the second-year coach, told reporters in Las Vegas last month that Gilmer had one of the “best offseasons” on the team. Foster pointed to Gilmer’s classroom excellence — at the desks his then-UCLA student mother held him at after he was born — and his drive to study film and practice on the field.
“He’s just someone that all he knows is work,” Foster said.
If Gilmer is going to take the next step, one that sets him on a pedestal, vying for the Biletnikoff and helping foster the Bruins’ first winning record with Foster as head coach, it’s going to take a hand-in-hand connection with Iamaleava.
Much like the ever-changing offenses Gilmer has adapted to year after year, he spent the spring under the belief he’d be catching passes from Joey Aguilar. Since Aguilar departed for Tennessee and Iamaleava leapt into sight in Westwood, the quarterback-wide receiver duo has been seemingly inseparable.
For weeks, Gilmer and Iamaleava strut off the bus for fall camp in Costa Mesa side-by-side. It’d only been a few months since Iamaleava became a Bruin and began entrenching himself in Sunseri’s playbook alongside Gilmer.
“Come on, let’s go get some routes in,” Gilmer said he and the wide receiver corps would constantly tell Iamaleava once he arrived at UCLA.
Any way to expedite chemistry between him and his quarterback, Gilmer wanted. Now, much of UCLA’s hopes and dreams at the start of a new season come from what Iamaleava and Gilmer can become together on the Rose Bowl’s green.
When reporters asked Iamaleava last month who he’d built a close connection with so far, the Bruins’ signal caller jumped to one man.
“Definitely, Kwazi,” he said.
His quarterback is ready to pass him the ball. Gilmer is more than ready to catch them in blue and gold — the reality that’s all he’d ever imagined.
“I’ve been a Bruin my whole life,” said Gilmer, who was born in Westwood, sat in on classes with his mom in historic buildings such as Royce Hall, and is emerging into an NFL prospect on the campus he grew up on.
It’s not just Gilmer who is ready to see efforts turn into results. The individuals who have watched him along the way believe his hard work will pay dividends.
“Could I project him being the best receiver in the country down the road?” Ellinghouse asked himself. “I wouldn’t bet against it.”
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